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Hot sauce - crude additive and insult to the cook, or other?


Ralphie

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I don;t always use hot sauce, but when I do, I usually enjoy the food more.

There have been times when it was nice to just make a bland food edible, but other times it complements a flavor.

What do you think?  Is there anything like a consensus on this from the experts?  Or is it pure opinion and taste.

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25 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Yeah - salt and hot sauce are either an insult to a good chef, or a requirement for a poor one. :D

Well somethings like eggs are enhanced with a shake or three of hot sauce. That’s really no insult to the chef.   I like hot sauce on certain things but I don’t put it on everything. Same with Siracha, it enhances certain things but I don’t slather it on everything.

It’s well documented that my MIL just bugs the shit out of me but that woman puts salt on everything. Before she even tastes a dish she’s vigorously working that salt shaker on her food.  We had fruit salad and she put a crap ton of salt on it!?!!  At least taste the freaking food first to see if it needs more salt.  

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Louisiana hot sauce is awesome!  I tried almost all of the mainstream ones, but Louisiana is by far the best as far as flavor and just the right amount of heat without being overmuch.  Flavor is king, you see.  I think most people would ditch the Crystals and Franks of the world in a heartbeat once they try Louisiana hot sauce.

Louisiana Hot Sauce - 6 oz. Original Hot Sauce | WebstaurantStore

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13 minutes ago, Randomguy said:

Louisiana hot sauce is awesome!  I tried almost all of the mainstream ones, but Louisiana is by far the best as far as flavor and just the right amount of heat without being overmuch.  Flavor is king, you see.  I think most people would ditch the Crystals and Franks of the world in a heartbeat once they try Louisiana hot sauce.

Louisiana Hot Sauce - 6 oz. Original Hot Sauce | WebstaurantStore

Crystal, Frank’s, and Louisiana hot sauces are the three stooges of hot sauce. Cholula, Melinda’s and Sriracha are the best. You’re welcome. 

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1 hour ago, ChrisL said:

Well somethings like eggs are enhanced with a shake or three of hot sauce. That’s really no insult to the chef.   I like hot sauce on certain things but I don’t put it on everything. Same with Siracha, it enhances certain things but I don’t slather it on everything.

My comment is really around the idea that a chef is creating a menu with a specific flavor profile in mind - ie they - the pro you are paying for your meal - have thought through what will be an interesting and tasty combination of ingredients and flavors and ALL should be present and accounted for on your plate.  No mods required. If they have failed, or if you're ordering something that you want to modify, sure, the hot sauce or the salt come into play.  And, if you cook just an egg, or a dozen eggs for the family, everyone is going to modify it to how they most prefer - from super simple to all dressed up.  But that's not really a "chef - diner" relationship, but more the normal "cook" sort of thing.

Some folks do seem to crave salt more than others. I like salt, but I rarely use it (add extra). My wife loves salt and uses it - especially when she is cooking, but also in a restaurant.  It is actually a biting insult from her to hear that a chef used too little salt, but I believe it is easier to add salt than to fix a too salty meal, so chefs have to account for that I would think and the only way is via under-salting.  Still, they should be close to spot on or they aren't doing a good job.

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29 minutes ago, Old No. 7 said:

Crystal, Frank’s, and Louisiana hot sauces are the three stooges of hot sauce. Cholula, Melinda’s and Sriracha are the best. You’re welcome. 

What I find odd is that Tobasco can;t hold a candle even to the Three Stooges.

Right now we have Arizona Gunslinger Jalapeno and it is excellent.

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46 minutes ago, Old No. 7 said:

Crystal, Frank’s, and Louisiana hot sauces are the three stooges of hot sauce. Cholula, Melinda’s and Sriracha are the best. You’re welcome. 

WRONG!  Cholula is decent, but is no Louisiana sauce, and sriracha?  Ketchup of the hot sauce world - not without its place, but not a headliner.

16 minutes ago, Philander Seabury said:

What I find odd is that Tobasco can;t hold a candle even to the Three Stooges.

Right now we have Arizona Gunslinger Jalapeno and it is excellent.

Agreed, tabasco has an assy flavor.  Their heyday was when there were no other real options in the states.

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1 hour ago, Razors Edge said:

My comment is really around the idea that a chef is creating a menu with a specific flavor profile in mind - ie they - the pro you are paying for your meal - have thought through what will be an interesting and tasty combination of ingredients and flavors and ALL should be present and accounted for on your plate.  No mods required. If they have failed, or if you're ordering something that you want to modify, sure, the hot sauce or the salt come into play.  And, if you cook just an egg, or a dozen eggs for the family, everyone is going to modify it to how they most prefer - from super simple to all dressed up.  But that's not really a "chef - diner" relationship, but more the normal "cook" sort of thing.

Some folks do seem to crave salt more than others. I like salt, but I rarely use it (add extra). My wife loves salt and uses it - especially when she is cooking, but also in a restaurant.  It is actually a biting insult from her to hear that a chef used too little salt, but I believe it is easier to add salt than to fix a too salty meal, so chefs have to account for that I would think and the only way is via under-salting.  Still, they should be close to spot on or they aren't doing a good job.

I only use a tiny pinch of salt when I make pizza dough. Otherwise I do use some soy sauce in savoury cooking..about 50% of time or more. 

Throwing on hot sauce...as a guest in someone's home, one should be careful. Especially if the cook did try to flavour the dish.  The Asian equivalent is throwing on more soy sauce, when already there is some saltiness!

Otherwise at home, whatever works.

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3 hours ago, Randomguy said:

WRONG!  Cholula is decent, but is no Louisiana sauce, and sriracha?  Ketchup of the hot sauce world - not without its place, but not a headliner.

Agreed, tabasco has an assy flavor.  Their heyday was when there were no other real options in the states.

To each their own but I like the smoked Chipotle Cholula better than regular Cholula. 

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4 hours ago, Kzoo said:

You guys are disgusting and have no sense of taste.  Anything smothered in hot sauce tastes like........ well....... everything else smothered in hot sauce.

Some of them do that.  Tabasco use is like a dog rubbing its butt on a rug, and now that rug is gonna be all dogbutt flavored forever, and anything you put sriracha on tastes like everything that has sriracha on it, kind of overwhelms whatever it is on, which is fine if you want that flavor at that moment.  I like Louisana sauce because it seems to work with what it put it on without stamping an overriding taste on it.  The hot stuff that is hot for the sake of being hot doesn't do much for me unless the flavor it adds is more noticeable than just the extra heat.  It brightens mediocre food and adds depth to already good food.

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1 minute ago, Longjohn said:

I’m taking a break from hot sauce with the chemo. My instructions said to avoid it. I’ve been using Yucatán Sunshine Habanero Sauce. I keep a bottle at the stove and a bottle at the table. 

I have had that in real hispanic dives, and it is pretty tasty!  I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did.

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1 hour ago, Randomguy said:

Some of them do that.  Tabasco use is like a dog rubbing its butt on a rug, and now that rug is gonna be all dogbutt flavored forever, and anything you put sriracha on tastes like everything that has sriracha on it, kind of overwhelms whatever it is on, which is fine if you want that flavor at that moment.  I like Louisana sauce because it seems to work with what it put it on without stamping an overriding taste on it.  The hot stuff that is hot for the sake of being hot doesn't do much for me unless the flavor it adds is more noticeable than just the extra heat.  It brightens mediocre food and adds depth to already good food.

Dog rubbing it’s butt on a rug in a good way, or not so much?  It could go either way. 

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7 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

My comment is really around the idea that a chef is creating a menu with a specific flavor profile in mind - ie they - the pro you are paying for your meal - have thought through what will be an interesting and tasty combination of ingredients and flavors and ALL should be present and accounted for on your plate.  No mods required. If they have failed, or if you're ordering something that you want to modify, sure, the hot sauce or the salt come into play.  And, if you cook just an egg, or a dozen eggs for the family, everyone is going to modify it to how they most prefer - from super simple to all dressed up.  But that's not really a "chef - diner" relationship, but more the normal "cook" sort of thing.

Some folks do seem to crave salt more than others. I like salt, but I rarely use it (add extra). My wife loves salt and uses it - especially when she is cooking, but also in a restaurant.  It is actually a biting insult from her to hear that a chef used too little salt, but I believe it is easier to add salt than to fix a too salty meal, so chefs have to account for that I would think and the only way is via under-salting.  Still, they should be close to spot on or they aren't doing a good job.

BuffCarla doesn’t like to hear that her cooking is overly salty. 

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Daughter #1 is a much bigger user of the stuff than I am.  I agree that Louisiana is the best of the widely available stuff.  I just finished a sampler pack my daughters got me for Christmas a year or two ago and I  enjoyed them all.

I submit that we hot sauce users are all non-tasters, so our taste buds basically have to be hit with a 2 x 4. :D

 

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